It seems that there is no shortage of controversy when it comes to The X Factor, which returned for its second sophomore season earlier this month with new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato. In this week's roundup, we find out why Mariah Carey isn't on The X Factor's judging panel, why Simon Cowell would want to pay for Spears' wedding and why an eliminated contestant contemplated on suicide.

Mariah Carey, who has officially joined the judging panel of American Idol for season 12, was interested in being a judge on The X Factor but the 52-year-old acid-tongued judge didn't want her on the FOX reality series because he didn't think she had the guts to be honest to music hopefuls.

"Mariah called me about X Factor and I met with her but my main concern was that she might have found it harder on The X Factor than on Idol. Idol is a more gentle show and Mariah is not someone who wants to say no to people," Cowell told In Touch Weekly Magazine.

Following the first season of The X Factor, judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul left and were replaced by Spears and Lovato, who would both join Cowell and L.A. Reid for the new season.

ArtistDirect.com reports that Cowell has offered to pay for Spears' wedding to long-time boyfriend Jason Trawick but there's a hitch: they must get married live on TV! "I'm happy to have the wedding on the show," he said. "I'll pay for it. Why not?"

According to The Washington Post, The X Factor has been been scoring poor numbers despite the addition of Spears and Lovato, and being up against NBC's The Voice isn't helping. Spears' TV wedding would certainly give The X Factor a ratings boost, if and when it happens.

Don Philip, Spears' old duet partner who came on the second season premiere of The X Factor as a contestant, revealed that he was pressured to reveal he was gay onstage-- something he had told the show's producers in confidence. "I think they were scared I was going to kill myself," Philip told The New York Post. "After that thing, I went home and had thoughts of [suicide]. I was so destroyed that they set me up."

"When I got onstage, [the judges] chimed in saying, 'What is your secret?'" Philip explained. "I knew immediately what they were talking about. I only had one secret."

The uncomfortable exchange got even more awkward as Philip turned the tables on Spears. "[I told her] 'I didn't think you thought it was okay that I am gay,'" Philip said, adding that Spears then replied, "I think it is fine that you are gay."

According to Philip, he started breaking down onstage at that moment and shortly after, the judges unanimously decided to send him home.

Coincidence or not, Philip re-recorded and released "I Will Still Love You," his old duet with Spears, only this time, without Spears. You can listen to the song via Amazon.

The X Factor airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 8/7c on FOX. Set a reminder using the BuddyTV App!